Biodiversity and altitudinal distribution of macromycetes in Cerro La Palma, Chalatenango, El Salvador

Abstract

Biodiversity and altitudinal distribution of macromycetes in Cerro La Palma, Chalatenango, El Salvador. The purpose of this research was to generate new information that contributes to the knowledge of the macro fungi diversity of Cerro La Palma and the country, in addition to referencing the values of the altitudinal reach and the types of substrate on which their life cycle is determined. The research process was divide in two phases, the first one, in the field, carried out in the Cerro La Palma, belonging to the municipality of La Palma, Chalatenango, El Salvador, during the dry-rainy, rainy and rainy-dry transition period of 2016. Moreover, the second, in the laboratory, carried out in the Mycology Laboratory, School of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of El Salvador. For the field phase, the study area was divide into three zones at different altitude values, to determine the diversity of species that develop in each of them. Dichotomous keys and specialized literature was use for the determination and location of the species in the corresponding taxonomic categories. A total of 263 species of macromycetes were identified, distributed in 154 genera, all of them belonging to the two large taxonomic divisions that form macro-carpophores: Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. According to the results obtained from the calculation of the Biodiversity and Equity Indices, it is conclude that zone 1 was the most diverse and equitable, while zone 3 was the least diverse and equitable. It is important to recognize that fungi are not only important in the dynamics of ecosystems, but also in diet and human health, so the need for the conservation of these resources of non-wood forest products increases.